We Are As Broken As The Chains That Tied Us
by Cold-Flame-Burning
Summary: Naruto finally brings Sasuke back, at the cost of Sakura's life. Naruto faces this question, "Was it worth it? Can he really bring about Sasuke's death when he just lost Sakura?" The answer awaits. SasuNaruSasu GaaraNejiGaara
1. I'm Sorry

Disclaimer: Two words. Not mine.

"Tsunade...will...will she be ok?" Naruto asked the woman standing beside him, refusing to take his eyes off the figure lying in the bed. She looked so helpless, so weak. He'd give anything to switch places with her, because it should have been him. He didn't know why Sakura did it, he only knew that one second they were laughing...and the next second, she was screaming and her blood was splashing on his cheek.

"Naruto, I'm going to tell you the truth." Tsunade whispered, trying to stay composed, if only for Naruto.

After all, Sakura had been her student. 'It was my job to take care of you Sakura. It was my job to make you strong enough to take care of your self. It was my job to keep this from happening.' Tsunade thought bitterly. 'I failed you Sakura...and I'm sorry.' Tsunade took a deep breath in, wishing her words could be different, wishing that this wouldn't break Naruto. "Naruto...She isn't going to make it through the night."

Naruto had heard the words Tsunade spoke, and they registered. Yet, at the same time, all he could think of was how it couldn't be possible. Sakura couldn't be in that bed, she didn't deserve to be. 'Why Sakura? Why me? Why save me?' Naruto just couldn't process it. She couldn't be dying. Not because of him.

They weren't even supposed to be on that mission. Sakura had come to his apartment in the middle of the night, and pleaded with him to go with her to talk to Sasuke. One last time. If he didn't come back this time, then they would have to try to forget him.

"Please, Naruto. _Please_. We need to try to get him back, just one more time. We are team seven, we can't give up on him. We are all he has. Please come with me to talk to him." She had shakily asked him, tears in her eyes.

"I can't Sakura. Tsunade is already pissed from our last sneak-out. She'll ban us from missions, and quite frankly, I can't afford not being able to make money." Naruto hadn't wanted to tell her no, but if Sasuke hadn't come back by now, then he wasn't going to.

"You promised Naruto. Please...for me?" She had whimpered, trying not to cry. "Just one last time. I'll never ask again." He had taken one look at the tears running down her face, ran his hand through his hair, and sighed. "Let me go pack."

They had spent two days following Sasuke's trail, and when they finally found him, he was livid. He had taken one look at Sakura and Naruto, and hatefully snarled. "What are you doing here?"

"We are here to bring you home." Naruto had answered simply. Being honest with himself, he didn't want to be here. He loved Sasuke like a brother, but he knew that Sasuke wouldn't come back. If he was even more honest with himself, he was not even sure that he wanted Sasuke back. Sasuke was still, and always would be, his best friend, but a Chidori through the chest really changes one's perspective on things. Yet, he had promised Sakura he would bring Sasuke back, and if he had to, he'd die trying.

Today, however, was different. "Why can't you leave me alone!" Sasuke had hissed, hate blaring in his eyes.

"Look Sasuke, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way," Naruto had yelled, "But I promised Sakura that i'd bring you home, and this is my last attempt trying. So, are you gonna come home where you belong, or are we gonna have to fight again?"

The only answer Naruto had gotten was a fire ball aimed at him. "I thought so." Naruto had sighed, but then grinned. It had been a long time since he had gotten in an honest fight.

And an honest fight it was. Sasuke was his equal in strength, and Sasuke didn't have near as much to lose. If Naruto failed, this would be the last time he'd ever see Sasuke. If he failed, he'd break his promise to Sakura, but even worse than that, if he failed...he'd break Team Seven for the last and final time.

In the end, Naruto had finally won against Sasuke, but it was a battle barely won. He had been left with deep wounds. Wounds that even with _his_ healing rate would probably take months to heal, and after that they would more than likely scar. He had watched from the ground, as Sakura tended to Sasuke. "Make sure you keep him knocked out." Naruto had forced out, ignoring the pain from speaking. He had a huge kunai gash across his chest, one that had been aimed for his throat. _'Try not to feel bitter about Sakura healing the Uchiha first_.' Kyuubi had hissed, sarcasm imbedded in his voice. Naruto had not bothered to reply.

After his and Sasuke's wounds had been tended, or at least tended enough for them to make it home, they began the journey back to Konoha. More than halfway back..Naruto was exhausted. His chakra was nearly completely depleted, and on top of his own exhaustion from the fight, he was having to carry Sasuke's dead weight. He was struggling to keep walking, when he had heard it. It was the noise of something whistling, a noise that sends all shinobi on alert. Before he could move, he heard a yell of "NARUTO WATCH OUT!!" and there she was. Sakura stood in the place he had been only seconds before, with a total of four kunai buried in her skin. As he took the survey of the damage; he knew her chances of survival were slim. One was barely missing her heart, the other three were nearly on target to damage other critical organs.

If they actually made it to their original target, he knew that it would have killed him, Kyuubi or not. It made it even clearer how bad it was, as he fought back the instinct to pull the metal blades from her injured body, when it subconciously clicked for him that it had been their height difference that made their assailant miss. It had been their height diffrences that gave Sakura a chance to live. He flared out his chakra in search of the assassin's, but they had fled the second Sakura had shouted. He turned his attention back to Sakura, knowing he had to get her back to the village as soon as possible if she were going to live. But first, he needed to know...

"Why?" Naruto asked, obviously in shock. He needed to know why she had done this to herself, why she had risked her life for a demon.

"Because I'm not going through the heartache of losing another teammate again, and I won't let my best friend be killed." Sakura whispered, and then passed out from blood loss.

"Hang on Sakura! You'll be okay. Believe it." Naruto had told her in a choking whisper that could have been taken for sobs. He knew he didn't have a minute to lose. He had unarmed Sasuke completely, and then tied him to a tree. Then, he raced towards Konoha with a dying Sakura.

He had bust into Tsunade's office screaming for Tsunade's help, and then when Sakura was being operated on, he went back for Sasuke. He had not seen the cherry blossom since then, and now that he was looking at her, all he could do was stare. He couldn't believe this girl lying infront of him was Sakura. She was a mess. A faint bitter smile crossed his lips because he knew that she would have never allowed people to see her this way. Her normal ninja attire was soaked with blood, her pink hair was matted with the red substance, and her skin was so chalk pale it looked whiter than the sheets under her. She was more than a mess.

She was going to die, and he knew it.

"Hey Sakura," He approached the bed, "How are you doing?" Naruto asked shakily, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Sasuke is that you?" She asked quietly, drifting in between consciousness and unconciousness. Naruto couldn't believe that she had just called him Sasuke. It was like she didn't see him standing there. Her green eyes that were once bright and full of life were dull and dialated- she really didn't see him. She may as well already have been gone.

He wanted to cry.

He came up closer to her and brushed the matted hair off her face. He took her hand, and had to fight the urge to recoil. He shuttered slightly, 'She's so cold.' He held her hand tighter, trying vainly to warm it up.

"Yeah Sakura it's me." He wasn't Sasuke, but damn it.. before she died, he'd give her the conversation she had always wanted from Sasuke.

"Naruto got you back?"

"Yeah. The dobe brought me back...that... and I missed you." Naruto knew he wasn't sounding like Sasuke at all, but he didn't care. He'd do whatever it took make Sakura happy.

" I missed you too. I never stopped thinking about you. I'm glad Naruto brought you back. I knew he would. He's a great friend." Sakura whispered, unable to actually speak.

Naruto had to take a deep breath to keep from crying on her.

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah?" Naruto answered weakly.

"Im tired. I'm gonna go to sleep. See you when I wake up. Okay?"

"Okay, I love you, goodnight. Wait for me and the dobe alright?"

"Alright." Sakura answered sleepily.

He watched her closely and just like she slipped away from this world-away from him. He'd never forget how she closed her eyes and how the heart monitor slowed down and stopped.

It was then that Naruto allowed himself to cry-to sob. He scooped Sakura into his arms and found himself buring his face in her bloody hair. He couldn't believe she was gone. It was just something he couldn't accept. He remembered Tsunade coming in and calling her time of death as he kept repeating words like "Wake up! Please don't go!" and "I'm so sorry." It was four and a half hours later when he managed to calm down enough to let Tsunade take her and clean her up for her funeral.

Her funeral. "Why did she have to die?" He thought to himself. "If I hadn't of agreed to go on that stupid mission..."

That mission. The mission to save Sasuke that he had followed her on. He clenched his hands into fists. This was all because of Sasuke. If he could get his hands on Sasuke, he would bash his skull in. None of this would have happened if Sasuke hadn't of ran off. If he hadn't of been such a coward. If Sasuke hadn't been so impatient. If not for Sasuke...Sakura would still be alive and they'd be a team now instead of three people with broken memories.

No- two people.

Sakura was dead, and she wasn't coming back. His best friend, his shoulder to cry on, everything he considered a sibling and everything he lived for was gone. All because Sasuke had to be an avenger and betray them. He grimaced as he fought back Kyuubi influences. Naruto would never accept revenge for an answer. No amount of vengence or glory was worth Sakura's life. If Sasuke had wanted to kill for Itachi, then it should have been himself. Sasuke should have died back there, not Sakura. 'I should have died back there.' Naruto thought. 'This is both of our faults, and I'll never forgive either of us.'

These thoughts had him seeing everything in red. If Sasuke had just stayed with them, Sakura would be alive. Naruto wouldn't be broken.

Sasuke wouldn't be a missing-nin.

He went to Sasuke's hospital room. Hopefully the bastard would be awake and Naruto would be able to tell him what happened.

He wanted to see the look on Sasuke's face when he realizes he just killed one of his friends, maybe even two.


	2. That My Heart Will Stop

Disclaimer: Why do we have to post these more than once? It's not mine. Duh.

Naruto quickly left the Critical Care part of the hospital and started heading towards the patient rooms. The rooms where Sasuke would be. Alot had changed in the years Sasuke had been gone, Naruto was now an ANBU captain and very close to reaching his goal of Hokage. That thought normally brought a smile to his face, but not now, there was work to be done. His nails pierced his hands subconsiously, leaving a faint trickle of blood. He couldn't wait to get his hands on Sasuke. He would kill him in the worst possible way he could think of, and with the Kyuubi whispering ways into his ear, that was pretty ugly. These thoughts entertained him long enough to lead him to the door of Sasuke's room. He had to focus his rage long enough to be able to talk to Sasuke properly. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Sasuke looked like he was sleeping peacefully on the bed, but Naruto knew better. If Sasuke was anything like him, sleep was never peaceful. Not anymore. "Uchiha." Naruto spat attempting to wake him. Sasuke's eyes flew open and scanned his surroundings, he frowned when he realized where he was. He locked eyes with Naruto. "Do you really think you will be able to keep me here?" Sasuke said calmly. "The only people who even rival me now are you, Tsunade, and Kakashi." Sasuke expected playful but serious banter, Naruto knew. This time he wasn't going to get it.

"Your court hearing is in an hour, if you try to run I will kill you where you stand." Naruto said, and Sasuke knew it was no joke. "Like you can." Sasuke scoffed, knowing he and Naruto were equals of power, something that pissed him off everytime he thought about it. He noticed Naruto clench his fist, but Naruto remained calm. Something that worried Sasuke greatly.

"You will find that a lot has changed in the past twenty-four hours." Naruto mummured dangerously. "I never had a reason good enough to kill you before..." Sasuke smirked

"And I suppose you now have one?" Sasuke commented, trying to piss Naruto off. A pissed off Naruto he could handle, a pissed off Naruto was predictable, but this was all new.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, if you had been anyone else I wouldn't of taken you to the hospital. I would of killed you where you stood." Naruto smiled bitterly.

"You would of killed me for running off?" Sasuke asked, intrigued. This was not the Naruto he had left behind. He didn't know what had changed, but something had, and he intended to find out.

"No. I would have killed us both for killing Sakura." He whispered. Sasuke wasn't sure if he had heard him right.

"So Sakura's dead?" Sasuke asked numbly. He always knew she was the weakest out of them, but he had never imagined her dieing.

"Yes, when I was dragging you back to Konoha we were attacked, and my reaction time was impaired due to blood-loss so she took a fatal hit for me." Naruto said. _'_**So he was too slow.' **Sasuke thought.

"This is your fault as well as mine, because if you hadn't of run away she would still be here. You wouldn't be a missing-nin, and I..." Naruto trailed off. He felt vibrations coming from the seal, then all the sudden, nothing. The calm before the storm Naruto realized. Sasuke watched as Naruto's eyes widened and he sat down on the floor. Naruto started going through hand seals rapidly, a look of complete focus on his face. Red chakra started to seep from him forming a vertical spiral. Sasuke watched warily, in case this was some sort of attack. Naruto's eyes bled into purple, and his nails turned into claws.

Inside Naruto's Head

--

Naruto went into his mind, and found himself in the familiar sewer like conditions of his mind. Normally, it wasn't like this. He had learned long ago how to control his mind, and thus control the landscape in it. Normally, his mind took the shape of a beautiful meadow, but with all of the stress on Naruto's mind and seal they had reverted back to the original sewer conditions.

Unfortunately, the seal was starting to do something no one had expected. It was merging Naruto and Kyuubi together, and while that would give Naruto demon like power, it was rather sad that the Kyuubi would be gone. In order to live during the Valley of the End, he and the Kyuubi had formed a truce, so over time the fox had become a friend to Naruto. Naruto shook his head it was time to stop reminising. He had to stop the Kyuubi before it stopped him. He appeared before the cage, and shouted.

"Kyuubi, stop this madness!" Then came a low angry growl and a gigantic paw came through the bars to swatt at him. Naruto held still as the paws fazed through him. "Was that really nessesary?" He asked with a frown.

"Why won't you let me kill the Uchiha? He has done nothing but cause us pain. Are you going to let Haruno's killer go unpunished?" Kyuubi snarled anger imbedded in every word. Kyuubi knew he had messed up when blue chakra started to whip around his cell, stinging him like millions of bees.

"Do. Not. Bring. Her. Into. This." Naruto snarled back. He realized his chakra had broken loose and concentrated on bringing it back under control. He took a deep breath. "Sasuke will pay, but it is not up to us to decide how he does pay." Naruto told him.

"I say it is, and so it will be." Kyuubi said quietly, but Naruto could sense the threat in his voice.

"No, I won't let you do this." Naruto shouted.

"Try to stop me, you may be my controller, but I am still the most powerful demon alive." Kyuubi growled. Then, the battle of wills began.

--

"No, I won't let you do this." Naruto mummured. All of the sudden a Hyuuga flew into the room followed by Tsunade. Tsunade started going through hand signs and then touched the Hyuuga male on the shoulder, causing him to glow a light blue. The Hyuuga stepped through the red vortex unharmed, and rapidly started to perform the 'Gentle Fist' on Naruto. Sasuke shot up from his hospital bed to stop the Hyuuga but Tsunade grabbed him and shook her head.

"Neji knows what he's doing." Tsunade said, but you could see the worry in her eyes.

"What's happening?" Sasuke asked.

"It's none of your concern." Tsunade replied, her eyes still focused on Naruto. The crimson chakra slowly ground to a halt, then died away completely, leaving both Neji and Naruto completely spent.

Tsunade rushed over to Naruto, and started checking his vitals. "How many times do I have to warn you how dangerous that is?" Tsunade snarled at Naruto, but they all knew she just was extremely worried. "You only have a few more times of that before your heart collapses."

"Can we take this conversation elsewhere?" Naruto mummured, glancing in Sasuke's direction. Tsunade got the hint. "Of course, follow me." She said. "Uchiha." She nodded in acknowlegement and left, both boys following her out.

'What was that about?' Sasuke wondered, he had alot of thinking to do.

--

Tsunade, Neji, and Naruto walked to her office at the other end of the hospital. They were all silent, until they got into her office. Tsunade slammed the door, and whirled around. "Why can't you control your anger? I don't think you understand Naruto, if this keeps up you will die."

"I'm fully aware of the consequences of my actions, Tsunade. Perhaps you would like to know what happened before you scream at me." Naruto said coldly. Tsunade glared at him, a sign to continue.

Naruto sighed. "It wasn't me this time, Obaa-Chan, Kyuubi decided to show me who was still in charge. It didn't help matters that my emotional control is recked after what happened to Sakura."

"Do you mean?" Tsunade started.

"Yes, he tried to break out again." Naruto whispered.

Neji came forward. "May I...?" He trailed off, looking at Naruto's seal. Neji had become an expert at seals because of his own. Neji normally wouldn't do this for anyone, but Neji held the highest regards for Naruto after all that Naruto had done for him. It also didn't hurt that Naruto was an ANBU captain, making Naruto his captain.

Naruto looked at Neji and nodded. He trusted Neji with his life, seeing as Neji rescued it multiple times.

After Sasuke left, it was Neji and Gaara that had attempted to fill that void. They both realized they never would, but they attempted it at least.

Neji placed his hands on the seal and activated his Kekkai Genkai. He channeled his chakra to his fingertips and into the seal. After a while, he stopped.

"The seal will finish the combination in three, four days tops." Neji mummured.

"That fast?" Naruto asked, he had thought it would take at least one month.

Neji was going to answer until he felt Naruto tense up under his fingertips.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked.

"Gaara's here!" Naruto said with a smile. Neji also smiled.

"Shall we go meet our racoon friend?" Naruto asked.

"Let's." Neji replied.


	3. I'm Afraid

Disclaimer: Do I own Naruto? hmmm...maybe in the future.

Both boys started towards the door when Tsunade cleared her throat, reminding them that they still had to talk to her. Naruto looked at her pleadingly while Neji just looked at the door, if Neji was any less dignified then he would be begging as well. In the beginning, Neji and Gaara had hated each other. Gaara hated Neji for not stopping Sasuke while Neji hated Gaara for being an arrogant prick. However, with both of them at Naruto's side constantly, they had gotten to know each other well and became close friends.

"All right," Tsunade said. "Dont use Kyuubi's chakra at all." She told the young ninja sternly. "-and if you start feeling any of these symptoms, come to me immediately." She passed both Naruto and Neji slips that described the known symptoms of heart failure.

"Hey!" Naruto interrupted. "Why does Neji get one?" He asked.

"Because you will lose yours." Tsunade and Neji said at the same time. Naruto simply stuck his tongue out at them while still glancing at the door and glancing back towards Tsunade.

"All right, go greet the Kazekage." Tsunade demanded irritably, but you could see the humor dancing in her eyes.

Naruto raced out but stopped when he realized Neji wasn't coming. "Neji, what gives?" He asked.

"Go on Naruto, I'll be there soon." Neji smiled, telling Naruto everything was fine.

"All right! Meet us at my apartment!" Naruto yelled as he ran off.

"So, Hokage-sama, What are the chances of Naruto's heart giving out during the merging?" Neji asked seriously.

"I'm not completely sure...I'd say about 60 percent, 90 percent if im not there." She estimated.

--

Naruto ran to the gate, coming to a halt mere inches from Gaara's chest. The sand had stopped him from colliding with Gaara and now was rubbing against his ankles affectionately. Gaara had once explained that the sand had a mind of it's own and only chose to listen to him. He had made it clear he didn't control the sand, and if anybody was controlling anything, the sand controlled him. The sand was almost animalistic, it knew common emotions and reacted to Gaara's emotions as well. Naruto reached down and petted the sand awkwardly, who was currently purring happily.

"Hello Naruto." Gaara monotoned.

"Hi Gaara! Come to my apartment, we're meeting Neji there because he wanted to stay at the hospital and talk to Tsunade for a bit." Naruto chattered until Gaara interrupted him.

"Why? Is Neji in the hospital?" Gaara asked, with a bit of worry creeping into his voice against his will.

"I'll tell you when we get to my apartment!" Naruto whispered quietly, giving Gaara a look. Gaara knew the look meant Naruto wished not to be overheard.

"Is he okay at least?" Garra questioned, trying to sound like he could care less.

"Yeah, he's fine. He wasn't the one hospitalized." Naruto reassured.

Gaara nodded, showing Naruto he was pleased that Neji wasn't harmed. Naruto suspected that Gaara held more than friendly feelings for Neji, which was understandable. Gaara, who grew up not knowing love or rather the stereotype that love is between a male and a female, fell for the first person to accept him other than Naruto and his siblings. Naruto suspected Gaara would have fallen for him too if they weren't pratically brothers. He didn't mind the fact Gaara was gay, because he was himself. The simple fact is you take any love that is handed to you if your a demon-holder. His thoughts were interrupted when Gaara tapped him on the shoulder. He looked at Gaara questionally.

Garra rolled his eyes and pointed at his apartment door. "Oh." Naruto said meekly, he couldn't believe he let himself get so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't recognize his own apartment. He opened the unlocked door and walked inside. After all, why lock your door in a Ninja Village? Not two seconds after Naruto opened the door, a kunai flew towards his head. Gaara's sand rose to defend them and stop the kunai.

"You know, Neji, you might not want to do that. Naruto's kind of out of it." Gaara said. Both Neji and Naruto noticed that Gaara wasn't meeting Neji's eyes. Neji frowned, before taking out a slip of paper.

"Naruto. List how you feel right now." Neji demanded, glancing at the symptoms list. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine!" He insisted. "Honestly Neji, even if I was having a heart attack, you would be able to see it with your Byakugan. So relax will ya?" Naruto said.

"You've been under a lot of stress in the past twenty-four hours, it doesn't hurt to check." Neji scolded. Gaara, needless to say, was lost.

"Explain." Gaara demanded.

Neji looked at Naruto, wondering if Naruto would like to share what was going on. Naruto motioned Gaara to sit down.

"It's a long story." Naruto warned.

"I've got time." Gaara replied.

"We were coming back from getting Sasuke, which wasn't a complete failure this time around, and someone attacked me. I was weak from battling Sasuke and couldn't defend myself. So...Sakura took the hit for me, and it killed her..." Naruto trailed off. Gaara wanted to hug Naruto and tell him it wasn't his fault, and that it was okay to cry for his lost team-mate, but he knew Naruto would not appreciate it.

"There's more Gaara." Naruto mummured to gain back Gaara's attention.

"The seal has started to merge Kyuubi and I together." Naruto saw something flicker in Gaara's eyes that looked suspiciously like pity, but it was gone before Naruto could get a closer look at it. Gaara knew that the Kyuubi had become like an older brother to Naruto.

"Normally, I would be excited at the massive strength i'm going to gain, but it will not only kill Kyuubi, but maybe me as well." Naruto whispered, waiting for the wheels to turn in Gaara's head.

Gaara sat up rigidly at the thought of losing Naruto. Naruto was his savior. Naruto was his everything.

"How?" Gaara asked, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice.

"My Chakra is overloading my heart, and very likely it will give out in the final merging stage." Naruto said, watching Gaara's reaction.

"When?" Gaara questioned, his face blank.

Naruto cocked his head to the side, not understanding what exactly Gaara was asking.

"He means when will the transfer occur, Naruto." Neji translated.

"Oh, three to four days." Naruto recited.

"If you'll excuse me." Gaara got up, intending to have a good long talk with Tsunade.

"Don't bother. I've already talked to her, Garra." Neji said.

"Then you know what I was going to ask, tell me the answer." Gaara strictly ordered with his common I-don't-care-about-anything stance.

Neji's eyes narrowed, "Watch your tone Subaku."

"Make me Hyuuga." Gaara spat back.

Neji POV

"Make me Hyuuga." Those words struck me hard. How dare Gaara treat him like he was lower class, sure people in the Hyuuga family had done it all his life, but he had thought Gaara was diffrent. He had thought Gaara understood him. The red-haired boy had always seemed like he had understood Neji's pain of being treated like dirt by his own family. Neji never really belonged with the rest of the Hyuuga's. The main house hated him for being a genius branch member, and the Branch members had hated him because of Hiashi's favoritism. God, how he hated them. That thought brought red-hot agony to him. His seal was acting up, punishment for his thoughts about the Hyuuga's. There was only one way to keep it from killing him then and there. 'Shit, I'll have to act like this in front of Naruto.' was his last thought before taking action.

End POV

Neji tensed looking ready for battle, and then realized exactly who he was talking to.

"I apologize Kazekage, that was out of line." Neji said his eyes glazed over, and then dropped into a low formal bow.

"Neji?" Naruto asked, confused. One minute they had been talking about his stay at the hospital, and the next Gaara and Neji were acting weird.

"Stand up, Hyuga, you are disgracing yourself." Gaara said, looking away as though he didn't want to see Neji acting inferior.

"Yes sir. How else may I accomedate you sir?" Neji asked, making sure to keep his thoughts subordinate.

"I said stop Neji." Gaara said, his eyes narrowing. 'What is he playing at?'

"Right away sir. Sorry sir." Neji said, wincing as the seal realized Gaara wasn't happy.

Gaara snapped and used the sand to throw Neji against the wall. "Enough, Hyuuga! You are not inferior so stop acting like it." Gaara snarled, hating to see his Neji in such a state. His Neji was defiant, willful, and strong. Not weak and sniveling. Neji's eyes flew open and landed on Gaara's, where as before he had carefully avoided eye contact, because that was a sign of equals.

'He doesn't think less of me for being branch.' Neji thought happily.

Gaara saw respect, happiness, gratitude, and a flick of something Gaara couldn't identify fill Neji's eyes. He was startled when Neji started screaming, clawing at his head. Apparently Neji's last thought was the final trigger for his seal, and it started the process of eliminating him.

"We've got to get him to the Hospital. Tsunade will know what to do." Naruto shouted. Gaara picked Neji up and started following Naruto to the hospital. "What's happening?" Gaara asked, trying to keep from panicking, but with the way Neji was screaming it was kind of hard.

"His Branch seal is acting up." Naruto stated bitterly, but at Gaara's look of confusion he realized Gaara didn't know about the cruel Hyuuga's."The Hyuuga family is divided into two parts. The main branch, which is the superior part, is where all the decisions get made and the leaders of the clan come from. The branch family, is the second part and from it, everybody gets treated as lowly servants and must bend to a main branch member's will. The worst part is the branch family can be treated as human shields in combat. Naturally, no one would put up with this sort of thing without a fight. So, each branch member is branded with a curse seal that is capable of frying their brains if they think negative thoughts about the Hyuuga's." Naruto explained, fury in his eyes.

"I've told Neji that when I become Hokage that I will fix it." Naruto whispered, mostly to himself than Gaara. Meanwhile, Gaara was seeing red. How dare they make his Neji act against his wishes, how dare they make such a brilliant and beautiful creature as Neji do less than his potential?

'This will end soon, Neji, I promise.' He thought to to the beautiful boy in his arms as they reached the hospital. 'Very soon indeed.'


End file.
